"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
"GAME SET!!!!"
"In the West Tokyo Finals, the Koshien qualifiers, the team that earned the Summer Koshien chance is… the champion, Seidou!!!"
As the announcer's passionate words echoed through the stadium, the entire crowd erupted in jubilant celebration.
The mighty Seidou High School baseball team had once again won the championship.
They had made it to Koshien for the third time.
After six consecutive years of bad luck starting last year, the Seidou High School baseball team had finally achieved glory.
On their upcoming journey, they would continue to fight with the same determination, aiming for the Koshien championship.
This was not only the wish of Seidou's players, but the wish of all Tokyo baseball fans.
If Seidou could make their dream come true, it would mean they had won Koshien three consecutive times.
This would be the first time in the 100+ years of Koshien's history.
The legendary Seidou High School baseball team had now been solidified.
Teams like Sankou, Inashiro Industries, Yakushi High School…
At this moment, one strong enemy after another flashed through Seidou's players' minds.
They had finally overcome all obstacles and achieved the most satisfying result.
The legendary Seidou High School baseball team was about to step into its true legendary status.
Sawamura struck out the Raichi, breaking his own strikeout record in one fell swoop.
In fact, in the final stages of the game, every strikeout Sawamura achieved was the birth of a new record.
The previous record was the one he set yesterday, 21 strikeouts in a single game.
Over the past 100 years in high school baseball across the nation, including all regional and Koshien games, the highest number of strikeouts in a single game on record was 21 in the Koshien.
Sawamura broke that historic record yesterday, raising the record to 21.
By the time the game reached the bottom of the ninth inning today, every additional strikeout by Sawamura meant the creation of a new record.
22 strikeouts! 23 strikeouts!!
Until now, an astonishing 24 strikeouts.
In a regular game, without considering extra innings, it's only nine innings.
What does that mean?
It means that the players from the Yakushi High School baseball team only had three chances to hit the ball and put it into play.
Sawamura's Outs, only three of them weren't by strikeouts. The rest were achieved through defense or other means.
Just thinking about this record sends chills down your spine.
Even after the game ended, the fans in the stands didn't disperse. They were shouting Sawamura's name and his nickname with excitement.
"Demon King!!"
"Sawamura!!"
"Sawamura!!"
"Demon King!!"
Even those who weren't fans of Sawamura knew his nickname, but it surely didn't feel quite as comfortable for them.
What does the term "Great Demon King" mean?
Without a doubt, it means someone who has completely crushed every other player out there.
Has Sawamura really reached that level?
Well, even if he has, these fans are acting way too excessively. Isn't that a bit too crazy?
Do they really need to shout like that?
Don't they realize they're rubbing salt in the wounds of their opponents?
It's not very polite.
But now, even the neutral fans have started thinking like Sawamura's fans.
He was undeniably a Great Demon King.
If Sawamura can't be called the Great Demon King, then in their imagination, it's hard to picture what a true Great Demon King should look like.
If such a thing as a "Great Demon King" really exists on the baseball field, then that entity should be the image of Sawamura.
No one else, including past players, would fit in such a scene.
This is the magic of Sawamura.
Almost everyone in the stadium had become his supporters.
Although the commentators were shouting with hoarse voices, celebrating the victory of the Seidou High School baseball team, no one in the stadium was paying attention to anything else. They were all mesmerized by Sawamura.
Sawamura, standing on the field at this moment, seemed to glow with his entire being, drawing the gaze of everyone around him.
After the game ended, the lower-grade players of the Yakushi High School baseball team were crying their hearts out, devastated by the loss.
Especially the first-year players, who looked as if they had lost a loved one. Their expressions were so sorrowful it was hard to watch.
The second-year players were relatively better. Aside from the emotionally sensitive Mishima, the others only shed a few tears before quickly recovering.
As for Mishima, he gathered with the first-year players and wept uncontrollably.
If there was any second-year player in the Yakushi team who was closest to the younger players, it would definitely be Mishima.
Mishima was never the team leader, but he had the heart of a leader.
He couldn't act tough in front of players of the same age or older seniors, but when facing the first-year students, he had no such reservations.
Most of the first-year students joined the team because of their admiration for the Yakushi High School baseball team, and they naturally had a lot of respect for the upperclassmen.
Now that the team had been eliminated, they all felt sorrowful for Yakushi High School.
They thought Yakushi had a really strong team, and it was such a shame they got eliminated!
In contrast, the third-year players of Yakushi High School, despite this being their final tournament, managed to stay calm after the loss and didn't lose control.
This was quite normal.
The third-year players of Yakushi High School had been through the early stages of the team's development, and they understood their position very clearly.
Before Coach Todoroki joined the team, they were a group of misfits. Just making it to the top 16 in West Tokyo was already a huge achievement.
Given this, they made it to Koshien in the spring and reached the finals in the summer, only to lose to the national champion Seidou High School.
If they said they had no regrets, that would be a lie.
But regardless, they made it to the finals. Once you reach the finals, you naturally want to win Koshien. It's a given.
But the Yakushi players were also self-aware. Looking at the score on the field, 8-0, the gap in strength was so huge that it was clear they couldn't defeat Seidou High School's baseball team.
Even though the loss was decisive, they didn't feel much regret.
Honestly, what could regret do? The result was already set in stone.
Even if they played ten more games against the same opponent, Yakushi's baseball team would still have no chance of winning.
If we're talking about the teams in West Tokyo that could actually challenge Seidou, it's really just Inashiro.
If they went head-to-head, Inashiro High School's baseball team could possibly win three to four of the ten games.
As for the other teams in West Tokyo, they didn't stand a chance. They couldn't even score a single point off Sawamura.
They had no real chance against Seidou High School.
The more games they played, the less chance they had of winning.
There was nothing they could do; the gap in strength was obvious. Once Seidou fully adapted to Yakushi, even if they took Sawamura off the mound, Yakushi wouldn't be able to make much of a comeback.
After such a loss, the third-year players of Yakushi High School were mentally at peace.
Considering their original identity, making it to Koshien in high school, and reaching the finals of West Tokyo in their last year, they had little to complain about.
In West Tokyo, one of the most competitive regions, achieving this was enough to be proud of against 95% of teams in the country.
Even if the strongest teams from Koshien came to compete in West Tokyo, they might not perform as well as Yakushi.
Thinking like this, the third-year players felt more at ease.
After the game, the players from Yakushi High School reacted normally.
When shaking hands, Sanada even sincerely wished Sawamura good luck.
"With your strength, you should have no problem winning the championship, right?"
"Don't say that. There are many strong teams nationwide. We'll do our best to fight for it!" Sawamura replied in his usual way.
After hearing him finish speaking, Sanada wanted to laugh.
There was no helping it; Sawamura had been giving interviews so much recently that it had become a habit for him.
If his strength wasn't so outstanding, Sawamura could easily boast and belittle anyone.
In fact, many teams from other regions acted exactly like this.
But now that Sawamura was the top player in the country, if he continued such behavior, he'd certainly face criticism.
When you haven't reached the top yet, it's fine to be humble in words and arrogant in action.
Gradually, Sawamura adapted to his current identity and position.
This was something he didn't have in the Major League.
People's changes and growth happen along with their strengths and status.
Even if Sawamura had always kept his original intention, his actions were still affected.
Although he wasn't entirely happy with such changes, he wasn't opposed to them either.
Such a disguise could save him from a lot of trouble and help build the Sawamura image.
Didn't you see the first-year players from Yakushi looking at Sawamura with stars in their eyes?
After this game, they'd probably become his hardcore fans.
With pure skill alone, Sawamura couldn't have achieved this.
Not just him, but anyone would find it hard to do this based solely on their strength.
"The next time we meet, we'll be fully prepared. When Fall comes, get ready for us!" Mishima, the next captain of Yakushi, said fiercely to Sawamura.
If not for the stars in his eyes, this performance might've earned him more support from his teammates.
"I'll be waiting!" Sawamura responded directly to the challenge.
To wear the crown, one must bear its weight.
Since Sawamura intended to lead Seidou High School to a five-peat, he would face any challenge from any team nationwide.
If there was a chance of meeting them, he would take them all down.
…
(End Of This Volume)
…
T/N: With this, the Volume is completed, the next will be the Koshien!!